Chapter 39: Last days at Rivendell Pt: 5

[General POV]

The melody played by the elves made the atmosphere in the dining room harmonious; the soft sunlight filtering in highlighted the beginning of a beautiful morning. Without the noisy dwarves, everyone was able to enjoy a pleasant breakfast. It was a time when the peace and beauty of Tolkien's world was manifest.

After a few minutes of silence, most of those present finished their breakfast, which allowed conversations to arise among them. Prominent among these conversations was that of Aldril and Bilbo, who looked at Aldril with a surprised expression.

"Are you telling me that Tindómiel, the dragon-slaying adventurer mentioned by Balin, is your mother?" whispered Bilbo, his eyes wide with surprise.

'But Balin mentioned that she was the daughter of the first king of Númenor, so she was not an elf. 'How could she have lived so long, could he be lying?' Bilbo's thoughtful face let Aldril guess what he was thinking, so he only gave a forceful answer for the moment.

"My mother is half elf; they're called Peredhil," Aldril whispered back, then paused and shook his head. "You know what? I'm going to go practice archery. Come along; I can teach you some sword moves and explain why my mother lived so long."

He hesitated for a moment, tempted to explore Rivendell further, but Bilbo dismissed that idea when he heard about sword practice. In the battle against the orcs, he felt something flow through his body, allowing him to forget his cowardice.

This excited him, but now, in a more relaxed and safe environment, he realized that he wielded the sword only by instinct and needed someone to teach him how to fight properly. And who better than his troll-slaying friend? Yes, Bilbo considered Aldril a friend, for he was the only one who spoke up and watched over his safety, apart from Gandalf.

Looking cheerful, Bilbo nodded enthusiastically, like a little boy being told he was going to an amusement park. Laughing lightly, Aldril rose slowly and spoke in a low voice.

"Excuse me; I'll go practice with the bow," he said with a polite bow, and then left the dining room, but not before glancing at the elf maidens who had brought them breakfast. "Thank you for the breakfast; it was delicious," he added, causing the elves to nod with charming smiles.

On the first day alone, that man had proven that he was unlike any they had ever seen in their lives. Moreover, his presence gave off a serene and commanding aura that would undoubtedly allow him to woo them if he so desired.

Watching Aldril depart, Bilbo rose quickly and mimicked Aldril's bow. "Thank you for such a wonderful breakfast. If you will allow me, I will join Aldril in his practice," he said hurriedly, running to catch up with Aldril.

As Aldril and Bilbo left, Balin looked at Thorin, who returned his gaze with mutual understanding. They both rose from the table without thanks, stating that they had business to attend to with the other dwarves.

Thorin's discourteous behavior caused Gandalf to frown and, with a sigh, he turned to Elrond. "I apologize for Thorin's discourteous behavior," he said, but Elrond only smiled, maintaining his serene demeanor as if the dwarves' behavior did not bother him.

"Do not apologize for them, Gandalf. The dislike between our races is rooted deep in our souls, so such behavior is understandable," he said calmly.

Gandalf sighed and shook his head slightly. 'Why did the great Vala Aulë give them such a discourteous personality?' Gandalf's thoughts were interrupted by Elrond, who stood up after receiving a message from one of the elves. 'Follow me, Gandalf; one of our guests has arrived.'

"In that case, I will go with young Aldril," Glorfindel said as he rose from the table. Elrond nodded in reply, and with a polite bow, Glorfindel left the dining hall in search of Aldril.

***

"Hey, Bilbo, I think we're lost. I don't know where we'll find a place to practice," Aldril said, cringing in embarrassment. He had been confident on his way out, but now he didn't know where he was going.

Also hiding his embarrassment because he didn't know where they were either, Bilbo began to look around. They were in a garden at the moment and could not ask for directions, as there were no elves around. "We should go back and ask," he said, turning away.

Resigned, Aldril shook his head. As they turned around, they heard the cheerful voice of a child. "Gerich i naugrim, Arwen, glaew hain a thost (I saw some dwarves, Arwen, they look very ugly and stink)," the boy said. Bilbo looked confused, for he did not understand the language, but Aldril's eyes widened slightly at the sound of Arwen's name.

"Gerich hain aen, Aragorn, adar pent ú-'ovathar na hain (I saw them too, Aragorn, father said we should not go near)," a melodic voice answered the boy. They had both stepped out of a hallway into the garden where Bilbo and Aldril were standing.

The beautiful elf looked with surprise at the two people in the garden. One appeared to be a dwarf, but this person was clean-cut and lacked the long ugly beard commonly worn by dwarves. As he noticed the other person, he gasped; he was an extraordinarily attractive human. Her heart pounded and a sense of familiarity surged within her as if she were reunited with a lost relative.

Involuntarily, she looked affectionately at the man, who returned her gaze with a smile, causing the beautiful elf to smile back, further enhancing her already beautiful features.

Seeing this, the boy holding the beautiful elf frowned angrily and tried to sound as masculine as possible. "Who are you?" he asked.

Noticing that Aldril was still staring at the elf, Bilbo quickly adjusted his clothes and with a smile introduced them, "I am Bilbo Baggins, and this is my friend Aldril. We are both guests of Lord Elrond. We got lost while looking for a place to practice with our swords."

Bilbo's introduction made Aldril and the beautiful elf stop looking at each other, both slightly flushed with embarrassment. The elf looked up at the smiling Bilbo. "Pleased to meet you; I am Arwen, daughter of Elrond of Rivendell, and this is Aragorn. If you like, I can guide you," she said politely.

"I would appreciate it," Aldril said, making Arwen smile even wider. "In that case, follow me." As they followed Arwen, Aragorn threw annoyed glances at Aldril from time to time, who only returned them with a smile, as if mocking him, further provoking Aragorn's anger.

He looked at Arwen and spoke in Elvish, thinking that those who followed him would not understand: "Manen tirnelyr hain, Arwen? Ú-edhel gwaith, ú-orthag, i cheltha gwaew (Why did you look at him so long, Arwen? He is an ugly man, you should not look at him; he will infect you with his ugliness)."

A frown appeared on the elf's handsome face and, in her melodious voice, she gently scolded the ten-year-old boy. "Avo belegol, Aragorn, amdir adar nîn hain, boe i-gedithaer (Don't be rude, Aragorn; they are my father's guests, we must be polite)." Slightly rebuked by his platonic love, Aragorn turned his head away, hiding his annoyance.

"Sedho, hên, ú-beniathathon i melmilenig (Calm down, child; I will not steal your sweetheart)," Aldril said in Elvish. Hearing Aldril speak in Elvish, Aragorn and Arwen stopped abruptly, surprise evident on Arwen's face as she turned to look at him.

"You speak Elvish," she said, ignoring Aldril's jest. "Yes, after all, my mother is half elven," Aldril replied, hiding the fact that he spoke all languages due to his system.

"My father mentioned last night that my cousin Tindómiel's son had arrived in Rivendell. Is that you?" recovering from the surprise, Arwen asked genuinely curious and somewhat expectantly. As a child, her father would tell her stories of her cousin's exciting adventures, which thrilled her greatly, even made her wish to be an adventurer like her. And now, before her stood possibly her cousin's son, who would have more stories about his mother, wouldn't he?

"That's right, Tindómiel is my mother," Aldril replied with a cheerful smile and love in his voice at the mention of his mother's name.

"Then that makes us family," Arwen said cheerfully, flashing a smile so charming that even Bilbo was mesmerized by such beauty.

Her moment was interrupted by a melodious but slightly masculine voice. "Oh, I see you two have already met," Glorfindel appeared behind Aldril and Bilbo in a moment.

"Lord Glorfindel/ Master Glorfindel" Arwen and Aragorn said in unison, the latter bowing slightly, demonstrating his apprentice attitude.

With a nod Glorfindel looked at Bilbo and Aldril "I thought I would find you at the training ground" He spoke with his usual serene attitude, though there was a hint of mockery in his voice, already imagining that these two got lost along the way.

"Yes, well, we got lost" Bilbo said while lowering his head in shame, Aldril on the contrary gave a wry smile while scratching his shoulder and turning his head to hide his embarrassment "Yes, we got lost along the way" The attitude of both of them provoked a slight melodious laugh from Arwen.

-Meanwhile with Gandalf-

"What!" I exclaimed in surprise "Aldril is Tindómiel's son? That explains why his hair shines like stars, he inherited his mother's blessing, now I understand why something told me to take him along with the expedition" Gandalf murmured.

After breakfast, Lord Elrond was informed that one of the people he was waiting for had arrived, as he followed him, Elrond told the origin of Aldril, causing Gandalf a great surprise.

"That's right, he is the son of the formidable warrior Tindómiel" replied Elrond, as they reached a high platform, which had a beautiful view of the valley territory, on the horizon were only green trees, being illuminated by the soft sunlight, admiring the view was an old man in white robes, who upon sensing the two people turned around.

"It is good to see you again, Saruman."

***

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